Story

Description

Cartman beans a classmate named Token on the head with a rock. Unfortunately for him, Token is South Park Elementary's only African American student. Cartman is charged with a hate crime and sent to Alamosa Maximum Security Juvenile Hall. Stan, Kyle, and Kenny are heartsick, because Cartman was supposed to anchor their sled team in a race against a girls' team down Phil Collins Hill. Without the extra speed provided by their associate's enormous bulk, they can't win.

In prison Cartman befriends his cellmate, a hardened con named Romper Stomper. After proving his worth by smuggling contraband into their cell via his rectum, he convinces Romper Stomper to help him escape. The boys make it outside, but are quickly cornered by the police -- who inform Cartman that, thanks to an impassioned plea to the governor by his friends, he's been pardoned. No such luck for Romper Stomper, who's dragged back to his cell. Cartman makes it back to South Park just in time to anchor the boy's entry in the sled race, which they win by cheating. Later, after making sure that attacking British people isn't considered a hate crime, Cartman beans Pip with a rock.

What I Learned Today

"I'm never going to take my friends for granted ever again!" (A moment later he throws a rock at Pip, knocking him unconscious.)

Memorable Quotes

"Why don't you chicks go wash some dishes or get pregnant or something?" Cartman

"I am making an example of you. To send a message out to people everywhere that if you want to hurt another human being, you better make damn sure they're the same color as you are." Judge

"You know something guys? I think we all took Cartman's ass for granted." Stan

Characters

Character Debuts

Although Token had one line of dialogue in "Tweek vs. Craig", this is the first episode where he's a main character. His voice was furnished by the head of South Park's Storyboard Department, Adrien Beard, because he was the only black guy in the building at the time.

Body Count

Kenny (killed during a sledding accident) and (possibly, but less likely due to later appearances of them) the entire girls' sledding team after they plunge over a cliff. All are shown lying motionless on the ground, and one is actually dragged off by a bear.

Locations

Behind The Scenes

Where Did The Idea Come From

This show is a statement against hate crime legislation, which Matt and Trey think is silly.

Pop Culture References

Shout Outs

The show is a tour de force of prison movie allusions. The theme from the HBO series Oz plays when Cartman enters reform school, and his prison break is lifted from the 1983 film Bad Boys. Also, when Cartman tries to escape to Mexico to avoid prison, he does so in Kenny's battery-powered Go-Go Action Bronco -- a reference to O.J. Simpson's infamous run for daylight.

TrialTV is a parody of CourtTV, a popular law-themed cable channel.

Romper Stomper says there are two kinds of kids in the world; "Kids who like 'Animaniacs', and kids who don't like "Animaniacs'. You're either with us or against us." It's a tough choice, but Cartman chooses that he doesn't like it. Neither do they. Animaniacs is a popular Spielberg-produced animated series that ended in 1998.

Romper Stomper - the name of Cartman's cellmate in prison - is also the name of a 1992 film about a neo-Nazi skinhead group in a suburban Australian town, starring Russell Crow.

Pwn'd

This episode marks the beginning of a sustained assault on Phil Collins, who that year won the Academy Award for Best Song over Blame Canada from Bigger, Longer & Uncut. It didn't go over too well at the South Park offices. The relatively tame insults leveled here are just a prelude to what's coming

Bonus Factoids

Pointless Observations

At reform school Cartman is given the prisoner number 24601 -- the same as Jean Val John in Les Miserables. However the number that's actually on his uniform is 26354 -- Rick Deckard's (Harrison Ford's) police ID in Blade Runner.

According to everyone at school, Clyde is the next fattest kid in South Park after Cartman.

Kyle and Stan both show a surprising proficiency in Pig Latin; they speak it while trying to sneak stuff to Cartman in prison: "Listen Aggot-Fay! An Ail-NAY ILE-FAY so you can REAK-BAY out of RISON-PAY".

Cartman smuggles a Tic Tac Throw game in. It's not a real game, but Romper Stomper and his prison clan really seem to like it.

The "Free Eric Cartman Now Committee" is Stan, Token, and Kyle. They give a rather moving and articulate presentation on "Hate Crime Laws: A Savage Hypocrisy". It works.

During the episode Cartman smuggles contraband to Romper Stomper by hiding it in his butt. After his release he visits his friend in prison and makes his dream of visiting Disneyland come true by pooping out the entire park -- mercifully, off-screen.

General

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